NEW YORK — Wall Street is set for a lower open today as investors await key readings that will provide insight into the health of retailers and consumers.

The market has put on hold a two-month rally amid concern from traders that economic recovery will not be as fast as once hoped.

A restart of the rally could come Wednesday if the Commerce Department's report on April retail sales comes in better than expected. The report, due out at 8:30 a.m., is expected to show retail sales were flat in April, after falling 1.1 percent in March.

Department store chain Macy's Inc. said its first-quarter loss widened to $88 million, or 21 cents per share, during the first quarter. But excluding restructuring charges, losses totaled 16 cents per share, better than analysts expectations for a loss of 20 cents per share. Analysts don't typically include charges in estimates.

Macy's affirmed its 2009 outlook excluding restructuring costs, which is shy of analysts' expectations. However, the company said it will beat its own outlook if the economy improves in the second half of the year.

Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of economic activity. Without improved spending, the economy is likely to remain mired in the ongoing recession.

Ahead of the retail sales report, the Dow Jones industrial average futures declined 62, or 0.73 percent, to 8,374. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 7.90, or 0.87 percent, to 898.90, while Nasdaq 100 index futures declined 16, or 1.16 percent, to 1,369.00.